'Noles Now Have a Distance King

Tallahassee, Fla. - Florida State's top distance swimmer Mateo De Angulo saved his best race for last at the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) World Championships in Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center.

On Tuesday morning, De Angulo turned in a fabulous 800 freestyle time of 8:05.98, setting a new Colombian record in the event, dropping nearly 14 seconds from his seeded time. He finished 23rd behind some the sport's best distance swimmers in history.

"Swimming against some of the world's best athletes is never an easy task, but when you couple this with recent injuries that kept Mateo out of the pool, the task becomes even greater." assistant Swim Coach Gary Taylor said.

De Angulo is still recovering from a sprained and fractured wrist which he suffered about a month ago.

"Mateo showed great perseverance in his pre-race training and individual performances at the World Championship's. He deserves the credit and should be very proud of what he accomplished." concluded Taylor.

Aside from competing on the international stage, the Seminole now owns all three Colombian National records in the distance events, crowning him Colombia's All-time fastest distance swimmer with these marks: 400 free (3:53.66), 800 free (8:05.98) 1500 free (15:41.58).

In addition to his 800 free in Shanghai, De Angulo also swam the 400 free, finishing 29th (3:55.66) as well as the 200 free, placing 39th (1:52.25).

"I am very pleased with Mateo's performances at the World Championships. This is a premier competition with many of the world's elite swimmers on hand. Mateo represented Florida State University and his home country of Colombia very well. This set's him up very well as he prepares for his senior year." exclaimed Head Swim Coach Neil Harper.

A transfer from Indian River State College , DeAngulo competed in the first half of the 2010-11 season for the Seminoles, claiming key victories in the distance events against Florida and LSU.

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